NHL: Fatigue could be plaguing Bruins, but not Jaromir Jagr

Sunday

Apr 14, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Bud Barth NHL

Fatigue? Don’t even mention the word to Jaromir Jagr, the Bruins’ ageless 41-year-old forward and future Hall of Famer.

Coach Claude Julien has blamed Boston’s grueling schedule — its last 33 games are compressed into 60 days — for its recent struggles. But Jagr is an entirely different animal from the other 23 players on the Bruins’ roster.

Jagr, who is in his 24th professional season (20 in the NHL, four in his native Czech Republic), was asked if he feels more tired at this point in the condensed season than he does in a normal April.

“I don’t know — I’m never tired,” said Jagr, who even showed up at an optional practice on Friday at Ristuccia Arena, along with fellow physical specimen Zdeno Chara.

“I’m never tired, man,” Jagr repeated. “I don’t know — I’m a freak, I’m never tired. That’s why I cannot answer the question. I would probably have to play three straight games and overtime (to get tired).”

Bully for him, but for the mere mortals on the Bruins — including fellow workout nut Chara — the brutal schedule over the last two-thirds of this wacky season is taking its toll.

It’s the price Boston must pay for its soft early schedule, when it had 37 days to play 15 games. It showed up in the results, too — an 11-2-2 start that grew to 14-2-2 before the first bumps in the road appeared.

Since then, the Bruins have gone 12-8-2, including 7-6-1 over the last 14 games, not including Saturday night’s visit to Carolina.

For those who counter that all NHL teams play the same schedule, that’s not quite accurate.

Playing 33 games in 60 days is the toughest grind that could be found in a random survey of a handful of contending teams.

Some examples: Montreal will play its last 30 games in 62 days; Pittsburgh and Columbus play their last 29 games in 61 days; the New York Islanders have 29 games in 60 days, and Chicago will play 30 games in 62 days.

The closest thing to the Bruins was Anaheim, which plays 32 games in 62 days, and even that is one fewer game with two extra days’ rest.

“It’s been a bit of a grind,” admitted Shawn Thornton, who doesn’t play as many minutes these days. “It’s more the travel and the lack of having a sleep pattern more than anything. Two nights ago, we got back to our places at quarter after 2 and in bed by 3 (a.m.) — for whatever reason, we were delayed in Newark. ... It’s kind of all over the place.”

Some players don’t like to discuss the fatigue and schedule issues. The 36-year-old Chara is among them, and he logs more ice time per game (24:58) than anyone on the team.

“You can ask me if I’m tired of that (question) or I can ask you if you’re tired of asking it,” said the team captain, whose ice time has diminished gradually since he led the NHL in 2007-08 with almost 28 minutes per game.

“It’s not easy,” Chara added, “but like I’ve been saying, it’s not an excuse. Everybody has the same schedule. I think we are in a good spot; we just need to get better in certain areas of our game.”

One of those, of course, is scoring. Before Saturday’s Carolina game, the Bruins had produced just one goal in four of their last eight games, and just two goals in another. Yet they had a 5-3 record.

The other area is opposition shots on goal. The Bruins had given up an average of 37 in their last six games, including three games of allowing 40 or more.

Now, shots on goal can be one of the most misleading stats in hockey, especially with the Bruins, who usually force enemy players to the perimeter and let them shoot forever from there. But many of the shots they’ve given up lately have been quality chances, which has put pressure on goalies Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin.

The Islanders got 36 shots in Thursday night’s 2-1 victory, but Julien pointed out that seven of those came during one awful defensive shift at the start of the second period when New York spent two continuous minutes in the Boston end.

“I don’t know if it’s a concern,” Julien said about the shots against. “We always look at the scoring chances as a concern, and if there’s more than there should be — and (Thursday) night, there was more than there should have been — that’s more of a concern.

“A lot of teams will choose to shoot from anywhere, from the outside, and that can put the shot count up, but does it mean they had scoring chances? We gauge ourselves more on that.”

Patrice Bergeron, who has just about recovered from his fourth concussion, practiced vigorously on Friday and traveled with the team to Carolina but did not play Saturday night.

He could return for Monday night’s game against Ottawa, which kicks off a four-game homestand.

Boston plays five of its last seven games at home, where it is 14-3-2. Brad Marchand, who has a minor concussion, “is progressing” and “seems to be feeling better,” Julien said before Friday’s practice. Marchand also could be back on this homestand, but the Bruins insist they won’t rush either player.

Julien doesn’t think the absences of Bergeron and Marchand are a reason for the Bruins’ recent woes, even though they represent a combined 26 goals and 64 points.

“Things weren’t fine when Bergie was here,” the coach pointed out. “We know we can be better. ... I’m very careful about falling into the negative when you’re trying to straighten out a team that is still having a decent season and winning hockey games.

“But, you know, I’m not going to stand here and say we’re in great shape for the playoffs. We still have to get better. ... I still feel very confident about this hockey club moving forward.”

Isn’t it time for the Bruins to do something about the lethargic Milan Lucic, who has just one goal in his last 25 games?

Lucic finally was dropped from the first line on Thursday night, taking up residence on the second unit with Gregory Campbell and Jagr. The result: no points, one shot, two hits and two giveaways.

It’s more than the lack of scoring. The 24-year-old forward, who next season will become the highest-paid forward and the second highest-paid player on the Bruins at $5.5 million, still looks lost out there.

His hits are way down; though he still leads the team with 112, he has had two or less in eight of his last 11 games. He used to have that many in one period.

His fights are down; he has engaged in three of them in 39 games. Admittedly, you don’t want a potential 20-goal scorer — the key word there is “potential” — spending too much time in the penalty box, but he usually doesn’t show enough aggression to ignite anything.

Julien needs to do something with the guy — bench him for a game or two, both to rest him and to shock him back into reality. Maybe it’s his first year being a husband and a father that has changed him, or maybe it was signing that three-year, $18 million extension in September that drained him of his desire and hunger.

One thing is for sure: The Bruins need more offense from him or their Stanley Cup hopes are toast.

In less than half of a normal season, Daniel Paille is challenging some of his best NHL seasons ever. The 28-year-old left wing, who bumped the slumping Lucic off the No. 1 line on Thursday, took 8-6-14 totals in 38 games into Saturday night’s action. Last season, Paille was 9-6-15 in 69 games, and he was 10-9-19 in 74 games in his first season in Boston (2009-10). ... Campbell is 4-8-12 in 40 games, not far off last season’s 8-8-16 totals in 78 games. ... The Bruins, the best faceoff team in the NHL (56.2 percent), lost their battle on the draw in the first three games after losing Bergeron, who is the top faceoff man in the league (61.5 percent). They had lost the faceoff contest in just four of their first 35 games with Bergeron. Boosted by the return of Chris Kelly, Boston has won the faceoff war the last two games, 36-25 and 22-19. ... When the Bruins play three games in four nights, they are 1-6-1 in the final game. ... The Bruins’ game against Florida next Sunday at TD Garden is a 12:30 p.m. start, not 3 p.m. as originally scheduled.